Subject 42
by Drakestress
Summary: Eve Hilliard was never "born". Grown in a lab as a part of the Weapon X Program, she has been experimented on her entire life. She's strong, intelligent, and she doesn't age like normal humans. When she manages to escape , she makes it her goal in life to hunt down the people who made her what she is. She is an outcast in society, different, uncontrollable, and dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

A few notes about this story. This is a fanfiction of Marvel's Weapon X program but it will be set in an alternate universe. Some characters will be mentioned, (and a few might make an appearance, but I don't know yet.)

I will be adding a prologue eventually. Anything in italics is a memory or flashback.

_ I was running for my life. Trees flew past me in a blur, their branches stung my face but I didn't notice the pain. I couldn't go back, I had to keep running.. Behind me the baying of dogs sounded through the air followed by angry shouts. Fear clutched my heart and I ran faster. I could outrun a human but I couldn't outrun a dog. _

_Suddenly I stopped, grinding my heels into the earth to slow my speed. The ground in front of me fell away into a sheer cliff. I carefully peered over the edge and saw that the ground was a good fifty feet below me. Suddenly a loud growling ripped through the air. I whirled around just as a three large hounds burst through the trees. They fanned out, surrounding me, teeth bared. I took a step back from them and my heel slipped off the ledge. I pulled back before I fell. One of the hounds snarled and started advancing towards me. I looked back behind me at the cliff, then back at the dog before I turned and jumped._

I awoke suddenly, bolting upright up breathing hard. I frantically looked around for any sign of danger, but all I saw was the familiar grimy interior of the room I called 'home'. Light shined in through the only window in the room, dust swirled in a hypnotic dance in the ray of light. I had found the place a few years back, in a tiny apartment building. The place had been abandoned for years, condemned by the city as being 'unsafe'. That didn't stop me from moving right in.

I had chosen one of the only rooms that had a window that wasn't broken. It was tiny, a good twenty feet squared. The walls of the room were covered in old, floral wallpaper. At one point the wallpaper had probably been white, but now it was yellowed and peeling. Spots of mold dotted the surface. The floor was wooden and heavily warped. When it rained, the ceiling liked to leak. I had placed buckets that I had found under the that water liked to drip through. A while ago I had managed to drag an old, ratty mattress into the room that was now shoved into the farthest corner of the room. I kept a small handgun next to it on the floor.

I sighed and put my head in my hands. Ever since I had escaped the Weapon X program, my dreams had been plagued with nightmares. I glanced at the wall across from me. The wall was covered in names, written in an angry hand with large black letters. Most of the names had a large slash through them that revealed the wooden wall beneath the wallpaper. The names on the wall were the scientists and researchers that had made the first 18 years of my life an absolute hell. The largest name was Raymond Barnes. He was the CEO of the the project that 'made' me. In my mind, he was the one responsible for everything I had to go through.

The names crossed off were the people I had killed. Only about four people had yet to find death at my hands and that number would be zero very soon. I already had a 'meeting', so to say, with an informant later today who claims to have information about one of the people I've been trying to hunt down. A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I remembered each kill I had made. How they all screamed for mercy, promising to give me whatever I wanted, but they didn't get it. I didn't want anything other than to watch them die.

I stood up and walked over to the window. Outside, the city stretched for miles, tall skyscrapers dominated much of the horizon. The road below was dotted with potholes and most of the buildings around the area were in heavy disrepair. Not many people came around here, and the city didn't bother trying to fix the area up. I didn't mind.

A loud shout rang broke the morning silence. Instinctively I honed into the source. Across the street, in an alleyway between two buildings, two large men had cornered a much smaller guy. I sighed, and here I had thought is was going to be something fun. I almost turned away, I had no obligation to 'save' this guy, but something glinted in one of the two men's hands that caught my eye.

With my enhanced vision, I had no problem seeing what it was. The guy held a knife, and a very nice knife at that. The blade was six inches long and came to a wicked point with a serrated edge on top. A smile formed on my face. I had been looking for a nice knife and one had just graciously fallen into my lap. Sure there was a person holding that knife for now, but he wouldn't be for very much longer.

I slid open my window jumped out. The room I lived in was on the second story but it didn't matter for me. I hit the ground and rolled, my enhanced muscles and strong bones absorbing the force. I straightened up and casually sauntered over the the trio.

No one noticed me as I approached. As I got closer, I could hear their conversation.

"You better hand over it now before I split you open." The guy holding the knife said.

"Please, I don't know what you're talking about."

I lightly tapped the knife guy on the shoulder. He and his buddy turned around sharply. They were both equally ugly and similar enough in appearance that they could be brothers. Both of them had squinty eyes, and a pig-like noses. The only difference between him and the other guy was the color of their hair. The bigger of the two,(and the one with the knife) had black hair, and the other guy had brown.

"What the hell do you want?" The guy with the knife sneered.

"Your knife." I said and flashed him a smile.

His face twisted in confusion. "What?"

I sighed. "Okay, here's how this is going to work. You're going to give me the knife and walk away, or I'm to beat your ass up and take the knife from you. Which one sounds better to you?"

They both stood staring at me before bursting out with laughter. "Yeah, I think you got it wrong little girlie." This came from the smaller guy. He looked me up and down, his eyes straying a little too long on my chest. "I think we're going to have some fun with you."

I shrugged. "I warned you." I said before I delivered a powerful kick to the smaller guy's gut. He went flying backwards into the wall, his head hitting the wall with a satisfying crack. He slumped to the ground, not moving.

The second guy whirled on me then. "Fucking bitch!" He snarled.

He lunged at me, slashing out with the blade. I casually side stepped his attack and he barreled past me.

"You know, that was really impressive." I said as he whirled around again to face me. "I think you might have actually gotten a hair there."

"Shut your mouth!" He yelled and lunged again.

He tried to slash at my face. I grabbed his wrist. "This really is a nice knife." I said. He swung his other hand around to deliver a punch but I easily grabbed his fist. He tried to pull away, but I was three times stronger than him. His face twisted into confusion.

"What the hell-?" He said and I flashed him another smile.

I released his knife hand and twisted the other one. He spun with the twist, arching up through the air, and landing hard on his back. He lay gasping, all the air had been driven from his lungs. I crouched over him, placing my face inches from his, and he flinched.

"Next time a pretty girl asks you for something." I said. "I suggest you give it to her." And with that I delivered a hard punch to his face. He went limp, having been knocked out.

I stood back up, grabbed the knife from his fingers, and inspected it closely. I was nice and heavy, made of stainless steel. "Thanks." I said down to the unconscious thug before I kicked him in the groin. He would be feeling that when he woke up.

Before I turned to leave I heard a soft gasp. I turned around and saw the guy that had been cornered by the other two. I had forgotten about him. He stared at me, eyes wide but instead of the usually fear that people looked at me with, he stared at me with amazement. He was older than I had thought from the window, maybe in his early twenties. He had short brown hair and the faint stubble of a beard on his chin.

"Tha-thanks." He said.

I rolled my eyes and walked away, with my new knife.


	2. Chapter 2

After I had the fight with the two thugs, I returned to my room, absentmindedly tossing and catching the knife as I went.

When I was back inside I tucked the knife into my belt and went to shut the window.

Outside, the scrawny guy from the alley stood in the middle of the street, looking directly at me. I scowled at him and flipped him off before blatantly turning away.

I sighed and looked around the room again. The fight with the thugs had been fun and all but now I was completely and utterly bored.

I still had a good ten hours before my appointment to meet with the informant about one of the last people I still had to kill. I might as well find a way to pass the time.

I walked over to the window again and looked out, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. with a smirk, I pushed open the window, sung myself out and began climbing up to the roof.

_Ten hours later_

The sun had just started to set when I finally left. The farther into town I walked, the more people they were around me. I curled my lip as a particularly obnoxious group of girls pass by, screeching with laughter. They were more than obviously drunk.

I moved quickly and quietly, keeping my head down until I reached my destination.

A large neon martini glass adorned a grubby looking building. Outside a long line of people led down the street from a door where a large muscular man in black clothes stood. Muffled music thrummed through the, otherwise silent, night.

I casually sauntered up to the bouncer in front of the building, ignoring the angry shouts from the people what were waiting in line.

Before I could walk inside, the bouncer held out a hand in front of me.

"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going?" He said in a deep, rough voice.

"In," I said in a falsely cheery voice. I tried to move past him but he stopped me, again. I ground my teeth, this bouncer was really starting to get on my nerves.

"No one gets in unless I say so."

I took a step back. "Is that so? Well then I suggest you say so."

"What?"

"Do I really have to repeat myself? Oh, fine." I paused. "I'm…" I pointed to myself. "Going…" I mimed walking with my fingers. "Inside…" I pointed to the door.

A few people waiting in line chuckled which seemed to make the bouncer angry. "No you're not." He spat out.

I sighed. "You seem to be having trouble grasping this concept. Hmm… Let me reword it," I put on a high pitched voice. "If you don't let me inside, you're not going to like what's going to happen."

His eyes clouded with anger. "Are you threatening me?"

I smiled. "Absolutely."

Suddenly someone that was waiting inline yelled out in a thick accent. "Just let her in you bastard!"

"See he gets it."

"One more peep out of you and you're gone." The bouncer shouted into the crowd. The people waiting in line grumbled but no one else spoke out.

The bouncer turned back to me and crossed his arms. "As for you, I suggest you leave now."  
>"No can do." I said.<p>

He uncrossed his hands and cracked his knuckles. "Last chance."

"Robert!" A sharp voice cut through the air. The bouncer immediately dropped his hands and took a slight step back.

Standing in the doorway to the club was a woman with bright-green, spiky hair. She wore combat boots, tight black jeans, and a black top that looked more like a sports bra than a shirt. Her ears were adorned with a multitude of piercings. On her neck was a large, twisting tattoo of a dragon. If looks could kill, then the bouncer she was glaring at would be dead a thousand times over.

"What have you been told about starting fights." She snapped.

The bouncer, Robert, gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Your job is to stand here and control who comes in. Not to start fights with people. If you decide to 'forget' that again," her voice dripped with sarcasm when she said 'forget', "you won't have a job anymore. Is that clear?"

Robert gave a short sharp nod before the girl turned her attention to me.

"Sorry about that. Come on inside, he's waiting for you.

She turned around and cleared her throat loudly. Robert stepped forward and opened the door and the girl walked briskly inside. I followed after her.

As I passed Robert, I leaned in and said in a soft voice so that no one but him could hear me. "Oh and just for the record, I so could have kicked your ass."  
>The muscles on Robert's neck flexed as I walked into the building.<p>

The lighting inside was dim, lit only by the flashing lights that were scattered around the edges of the room. Music played deafeningly loud, I could feel the bass pounding in my chest.

The place was packed with people jumping and bouncing to the music.

My senses were overwhelmed with information. My nose was assaulted with the strong smell of alcohol mixed with the smell of unwashed humans and vomit. My eyes picked up every movement, and in a room full of dancing people, I was starting to get a bit dizzy. For once in my life, I was glad that my hearing was no better than a normal person.

I needed to get out of here now, before I completely lost it, but I had to meet with my informant. I needed to know what he had to tell me. I closed my eyes tightly, taking in a few slow, deep breaths, trying to control the overwhelming environment around me. When I opened my eyes again I managed to tune out most of the information that my senses were picking up, until everything around me seemed closer to normal. It took a lot of effort out of me to keep it like that.

To my left, the green-haired girl leaned against the bar, watching me intently.

"Well that was interesting." She said.

For some reason her comment infuriated me. I had the strong urge to walk up and smack the stupid little smirk that she wore from her face. "Oh so I'm a walking attraction now am I? Just here to 'entertain the masses'?" I said.

Well, at least that's what I said in my mind. Out loud I said, "You said he was waiting for me?"

She nodded casually, the stupid smirk never leaving her face. "Yeah he is, but it isn't like we don't have all night. Do you want anything? A drink maybe?"

"Just take me to him." I snapped at her, smiling as her face dropped.

It wasn't like alcohol did anything for me anyways. Yet another side effect of being the glorious abomination that is Eve Hilliard. I can't get drunk.

Green-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. This way."

She pushed off from the bar and began making her way through the crowd.

I ground my teeth together as she passed me to keep from punching her in the face. I pushed my way through the crowd after her, shuddering as countless hot, sweaty bodies pushed against me. Green-haired girl seemed to move through the crowd with ease. I've never liked humans, or anybody for that matter. In my mind, the only one worth trusting is yourself.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my arm from behind and turned me around.

A young guy, probably just into college, stood swaying on his feet as he held onto my wrist. "Hey gorgeous." He slurred. Ugh, humans.

I put on a false smile and took a step towards him. His eyes lit up, and I had to fight a laugh, how gullible. I put my hands on his shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"I suggest you walk away before I break your nose." I whispered in a sweet voice before I stepped back.  
>He laughed like what I had just said had been a hilarious joke. "Oh come on baby, you know you want to." He reached out a hand to grab me again.<p>

Out of instinct, I swatted his hand away and sent a powerful punch straight to his nose. He flew back into crowd, blood gushing from his nose.

"What the hell?" He yelled.

"I warned you." I said with a casual shrug. "Maybe next time you'll treat a lady with a little more respect."

Quite a few people around us had stopped dancing to watch watch the spectacle taking place.

Someone else grabbed my arm from behind and I whirled, ready to punch the dumbass right in the face, but it was just the green haired girl.

"Come on." She said it in an even voice but the large smile on her face told that she had enjoyed the little confrontation I had just had.

I expected her to say something about it. Instead she simply turned and started pulling me through the crowd without saying a single word until we reached a curtained doorway at the back of the room.

A dark-skinned (and very large) bouncer stood beside the curtain. He nodded to the girl, gave me a suspicious glance, and pushed aside the curtain to let us in.

The hallway on the other side was empty, black, and ended in a single door. Dim lights lined the ceiling and cast everything in an eerie, shadow-filled light.

"Before I let you in, I have to take your weapons." Green-haired girl said.

I wasn't expecting that. "Who says I'm armed?"

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

I considered lying to her but eventually I gave in. "Oh all right."  
>I knelt down, lifted the bottom of my pants leg, and removed my gun from the cuff of my boot. Then I straighten and handed it, rather reluctantly, to her.<p>

She took the the gun from me but didn't drop her hand. "And the knife at your belt?"

I was shocked. I knew she shouldn't have been able to see the knife, it was well hidden by my shirt. So how… and then it dawned on me. "You're a mutant, aren't you?"

She flashed me a smile.

"Fine," I grumbled. I lifted my shirt and grabbed my new knife from my belt. I hesitated before giving it to her. Without it I would be defenceless. Well, no that's not true, my entire body is technically a weapon. I didn't need knives or guns to kill but I still enjoyed them. There's nothing quite like the grace and precision of damage a well-used knife could deal.  
>I handed it to her, watching with sadness as the badass knife, that I had just gotten earlier that day, was taken away from my possession.<p>

"Thank you." She said. "You can go right on in."  
>I gave one last longing glance at my weapons before I turned to the door "Don't<p>

mess up my knife. I just got it."

She laughed before I walked into the room.

The recurring theme around this place seemed to be black and the room was no exception. A small bar with a lone bartender (dressed in black of course) dominated the corner of the room to my left. A large flat-screen television dominated the wall across from me and a large, black, leather recliner sat in front of it. To the right of the recliner, pushed up against the wall, was a black sofa.

When I stepped in the bartender looked up from his task of wiping the counter down. He made eye contact with me and cleared his throat loudly before returning to his work.

The large leather recliner moved slightly and a man stood up from it. Well, sort of. The person that turned around was indeed a male, but several years from being a man. He looked like he was about twelve years old. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. On top of that he wore a business suit that looked like something twice his age would wear.

The kid smiled. "You must be Eve." He said.

"Uh-huh, and you are…?"

"Carl Rudabock."

"You're Carl Rudabock. The guy who called me here?"

"That is indeed me."

I could't hold in a laugh. This had to be some sort of joke. There's no way this pipsqueak was the guy I was supposed to meet here  
>The warm smile he had been wearing since he first saw me quickly fell. "Is something funny?"<p>

"No it's just, you're joking right? Look kid, you may talk like an adult but you're****"

Carl's jaw clenched. "Look, I have information that I assume you want. So we can either play this little 'game' of yours or we can actually get down to what this meeting is for."

I'll hand it to the kid, he was good. Most people would have taken a swing at me by now. I boldly sauntered over and plopped down on the couch. "All right then 'Mr. Rudabock', let's get down to business."

He remained standing, but he leaned up against the arm of the recliner. For a while he just studied me. "You know, you're pretty famous around here." He finally said.

I laughed, "Really? And what do they say about me?"

"Quite a bit, actually. When someone goes out on a murderous rampage it tends to get around."

I raised my eyebrows. "Murderous rampage you say? That's a bit extravagant."

"Then what would you call what you have been doing?"

"I'm simply ridding the world of people who have no right to live."

He laughed which was a little unnerving. The guy talked like he was a good deal older than he looked and the laugh made him look like a kid. "It's true then, you really are crazy."

I flashed him a smile. "Never said I wasn't. Now about this information you claim to have..."

Right, right." He said his face becoming serious. "I understand that you are looking for a one Selvia Mitchell?"

He had my attention now. "As a matter of fact I am."

"Well what if I told you that I know where she is?"

I sighed and leaned forward so that my hands rested on my knees. "Look kid, stop beating this around the bush. If you have information to tell me, tell me it. I have a long night ahead of me."

Carl crossed his arms and leaned back, a small grin on his face. "Selvia Mitchell is currently staying in her family's mansion on Hase Street. But she's only there tonight, come morning she's leaving the country."

So the old hag was trying to escape. I stood up and started for the door. As I passed Carl I ruffled his hair. "Thanks kid." I said.

"Hold on." Carl said just as I reached the door.

I stopped, my hand hovering just above the doorknob.

"You didn't think I was going to give you information for free, did you?"

I clenched my hand into a fist before lowering it back down to my side and turning around.

Carl hadn't moved from his spot by the chair. His face remained neutral but his eyes seemed to be filled with a predatory hunger.

I had to fight to keep my voice even as I responded. "Alright then, what do you want in return?"

"I want you to work for me."

I laughed. "Not a chance kid."

Carl smiled. "Oh, but you don't have a choice. You see…" He put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly to the bar. The bartender immediately set out two glasses , put a few pieces of ice in each, and then poured an amber colored liquid in o them. When he was finished, Carl grabbed the glasses and walked towards me. "... I've had my eye on you for quite some time now. I could use someone like you Eve. And I assure you," he held one of the glasses out to me, "I'll make it worth your while."

Something wasn't right here, I could feel it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I had the strong urge to run but I pushed the feeling down and slowly took the glass from Carl. His smile widened.

"You know, it's funny," I said casually. I pretended to study the drink carefully, swirling the glass around so that the ice chimed against the edges.

"What is?" Carl asked.

"You claim to know so much about me, and yet…" I looked him straight in the eye. "... you know nothing about me at all."

I held the glass out at arm's length and let it drop to the floor. It landed with a loud crash of shattering glass.

Carl watched the glass's progression to the floor. "Are you refusing my offer then?"

"I'm afraid so."

He sighed. "I had really hoped it wouldn't have come to this."

In the blind of an eye, Carl had pulled a gun from somewhere in his suit and had pointed it at my face. It happened so fast that I didn't have any time to react.

He no longer looked like a child. While his face and physical appearance were that of a twelve year old, the malice that filled his eyes was anything but.

"Now then, let's try that again shall we? You will start working for me, or I will kill you. It's your choice."

I didn't look at the gun, I didn't even care that it was there. I kept my eyes on Carl. "Man, you really don't get it, do you?" I said.

"Oh really? And what exactly don't I get?"

"Me." I said and then I made my move.

I instantly dropped into a crouch and kicked out a leg at Carl's kneecaps. He let out a shout of surprise and went down. I jumped away and made a grab for the door. A defining boom shot through the air and the wood of the door frame exploded in a shower of wood fragments. Carl had recovered quickly, he was back on his feet and shooting.

I twisted the doorknob and ran into the hallway just as Carl fired off another shot. I didn't risk glancing behind me, if I did I probably would be shot.

I ran through the curtain and burst back into the main room of the club. Behind me, Carl shouted something that I didn't quite catch. I plunged into the throng of dancers, pushing people aside that didn't move out of my way. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Just as I made it out of the thickest mass of people someone grabbed my arm from behind. I whirled around, my fist already moving to punch whoever had grabbed me. I didn't care who it might be, whoever it was was keeping me from escaping and I didn't have any patience left for stupid people. But, to my surprise, my fist never made contact. Instead someone grabbed my hand, stopping it's path. It was the green-haired girl.

I was so shocked I didn't know how to react. No one had ever been able to stop one of my punches before. Who was this girl?

"Seems like you've caused quite a mess." She said calmly, snapping me out of my confused daze. She looked over her shoulder to where the bouncer that had been stationed by the curtained hallway, was pushing his way through the crowd. His large size seemed to be at a disadvantage for him. Where I had been easily able to slip through the crowd, he had to shove his way through it.

The green-haired girl turned back to me. "Here, you'll probably be needing these."

She held out her hands to me, in which she held both the gun and the knife that she had taken from me earlier.

This threw me off even more. Nothing she did made any sense. "Aren't you supposed to be on their side?" I asked.

She shrugged but didn't say anything.

"What's your name?"

"Lucy. Now are you going to take these or not?"

I wanted to say something else, ask her why she was trying to help me, but at that moment the bouncer burst out from the crowd.

"Well, that's my queue to leave." I grabbed my weapons from her, said a quick "thanks", and ran for the door. Even with all the sound in the room, I heard Lucy laugh to herself.

I slammed the front door open with my shoulder and skidded to a stop.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Standing in the middle of my way was the bouncer that I had argued with at the start of the night. He stood with his arms crossed and his feet planted slightly apart. He looked like an immovable wall of muscle, well to a normal person at least.

"Going somewhere?" He asked with a small grin.

Behind me, through the door, I could hear the sound of running footsteps. I had maybe ten seconds before anyone who was chasing me came through the door.

"I really don't have time for this." I said.

"Well that's too ba-" He started to say but I had already started to move. I rammed into him, putting all of my strength into the impact. The 'immovable wall of muscle' went flying backwards.

The door to the club burst open, my ten seconds were up. I didn't even look to see who had come through the door I ran for it. I ran straight for the road across from the club.

"You, stop!" Someone yelled.

I heard the sharp click of a gun being cocked a second before the deafening boom. The asphalt next to me exploded in a shower of rubble that flew up and stung my face.

Despite the danger I was in, I was smiling. I hadn't felt this much excitement in a very long time. Another gunshot rang out and something hot grazed my ear.

"Amateurs." I muttered. With my next stride I dug my heel into the ground and pivoted on the spot, drawing my gun in a flash. With my enhanced eyesight, I had no trouble seeing my target even though I was already almost a block away. What I saw though, caught me off guard.

Instead of one of the bouncers, there, standing at the entrance of the club with a gun pointed straight at my face, was Carl himself. In any other situation, seeing a child pointing a gun at me might seem almost comical, but not now. I didn't know what exactly Carl was, but one thing I knew for sure was that he was no child.

I quickly regained myself, aimed, and fired. Everything seemed to start moving in slow motion then. My mind faintly registered the bullet leaving the gun in a flash of light but my full attention stayed on Carl. Instead of watching my gun, he was staring straight at me. An eerie smile crept across his face that sent chills down my spine. He lowered his arm just as my bullet hit him.

The world returned to normal speed. Carl fell backwards in a spray of blood. He wasn't dead, he couldn't be. I had hit his shoulder.

Then someone screamed. Several people rushed to Carl's side. To them, a little kid had just been shot right in front of their eyes.

For some reason I couldn't seem to move. The look on Carl's face just before he had gone down had evoked something in me that I hadn't felt in a very long time. Fear.

The gun fell from my hand and clattered across the pavement. My hands began to shake and I fell to my knees. Memories flashed through my mind. _The feel of cold metal against my back. Doctors in white lab coats swarming over me, and Him. He stood there with the same smile. The same hungry look. _

I pressed my hands against my ears trying to block them out, trying to suppress the fear. I didn't want to remember. I didn't want to be back at that place.

Suddenly something touch my back. "Miss? Miss, are you alright?"

It brought me back to reality, the memories started to fade away, back into the deep recesses of my mind. I blinked slowly and looked around. A young woman was crouched down in front of me, concern and worry etched across her face.

"Are you alright?" She asked again.

I took a deep, slow breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them again the woman was still there. Behind her, a young guy stood awkwardly. It was obvious that he was with the girl.

"Do you need me to call someone?" The woman asked softly. She reached out a hand to touch my shoulder but I quickly stood up and took a step away from her.

"I'm fine." I said.

Back at the entrance to the club a large group of people had formed around where Carl lay. I could hear sirens in the distance, my cue to leave.

The woman in front of me stood up. "Are you sure? We can call you an ambulance or-" she took a step forward and reached out a hand again like she wanted to touch me.

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around and ran.

"Hey, wait a second!" The woman yelled but I ignored her. I couldn't stand people like that. Pretending to care about others when I knew that all they actually wanted was to use their 'act of kindness' as a weight over your head. People aren't actually selfless, that I've learned the hard way.


End file.
